Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on their obligations to take action against breaches of planning law.

Paragraph 207 of the National Planning Policy Framework sets out the policy for enforcement, and can be found at the following link:

http://planningguidance.planningportal.gov.uk/blog/policy/achieving-sustainable-development/decision-taking/. The new planning guidance has a section entitled “Ensuring effective enforcement”, which can be found at the following link:

http://planningguidance.planningportal.gov.uk/blog/guidance/ensuring-effective-enforcement/. Also in August 2013 we published guidance for local authorities on dealing with illegal and unauthorised encampments, which can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dealing-with-illegal-and-unauthorised-encampments-a-summary-of-available-powers